by The Northern Ireland and Malta will meet for the first time in their history in the UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers in Group B3 tonight at the National Football Stadium in Windsor Park, Belfast, with the match set to be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and TVM News+. The hosts are seeking a strong start despite battling a virus in the camp. Tanya Oxtoby is not underestimating Malta, while Manuela Tesse is seeking a disciplined performance against strong opposition.
Initiating The Qualification Group Stage
Northern Ireland and Malta will initiate the EURO Qualification phase matches within Group B3 at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast. Northern Ireland seek back-to-back qualifications to the EURO finals, after having debuted in the competition the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 held in England. They were the lowest UEFA-ranked team to qualify with the previous qualification system. On the other hand, Malta still seek a debut qualification.
In conjunction, both teams will be seeking to finish at least third in the group to ensure that they remain in League B when the group stage matches finish this July. The Northern Ireland go into this phase having retained their place in League B following a two-legged play-off against Montenegro which they won on an aggregate of 3-1. They went into the play-offs after finishing third in their group, trailing the Republic of Ireland and Hungary.
On the other hand, this will be the first match for Malta within League B, after earning promotion by topping their group in the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League cycle.
A Maiden Meet But Plenty of Familiarity
It will the first meet between the two nations, despite the Northern Ireland’s Women’s side debuting back in 1973 and Malta’s Women’s National Team having played it first matches in 2003. Despite this, plenty of players are already familiar with a few of their opponents, having previously met on opposite ends or shared time as teammates.
Northern Ireland’s Casey Howe, Nadine Caldwell, Joely Andrews, Chloe McCarron and Caragh Hamilton will be familiar with Malta’s Janice Xuereb, Stephania Farrugia, Charlene Zammit, Ann-Marie Said, Gabriella Zahra and Alishia Sultana. The players had met in the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2022, with their then respective clubs Glentoran and Birkirkara.
Additionally, Northern Ireland’s Hamilton will also be especially familiar with Malta’s Maria Farrugia as both play for Lewes in the Barclay’s Women’s Championship in England. This besides a number of Northern Ireland’s contingent playing with other teams within the same league, including the returning Jackie Burns (Reading), Laura Rafferty (Southampton), Rebecca Holloway (Birmingham City), Rebecca McKenna (Charlton Athletic) and Connie Scofield (London City Lionesses), among others.
The two teams go into these fixtures with several changes in their line-ups since the previous international window. Northern Ireland’s Tanya Oxtoby made six changes since the play-off in February. Goalkeeper Jackie Burns (Reading) returns following being sidelined with injury, as well as a scarce call up for Brenna McPartlan whose only appearance for the national team was back in 2017.
However, Oxtoby framed the number of changes as a positive, “Sometimes change is good. I’ve learnt a lot about the players and they have learnt a lot about me,” Oxtoby said. Having taken over the team last September, Oxtoby is looking to build on the initial campaign, “We are starting to really find our feet in terms of understanding the environment we are trying to create, and what we need to focus on to be able to continue to progress.”
Likewise, Malta’s selection features five returnees who participated in the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League cycle, while also featuring Durham youngster Alexandra Gatt and Swieqi United’s Jade Flask, both of whom missed the UEFA Women’s Nation’s League matches due to injury.
Match Expectations
Despite the 41 rank-difference between the two nations in the FIFA Women’s world ranking, Oxtoby is considering the match a balanced one. Speaking to the local media, she said, “Malta will be a really tough test for us, they are really dangerous in possession and they have some really dangerous players in terms of their movements. We are well aware of that and we need to be switched on for the full 90 minutes.”
Northern Ireland’s coach Tanya Oxtoby also conceded that the side have been dealing with a virus, but suggested that the squad will not be severely impacted. She said, “I’d be really pleased to get the result given the challenges that we’ve had this week. It will give us a good platform to move forward with.”
The Australian urged the home support to push the team toward a positive result, “It’s the first game of a campaign, you are at home so you want to put in a really good performance. We want to make them proud in terms of the way we play our football. We were talking about how we’re two evenly matched teams in terms of the way that we go about our football. So, it’s going to be a great game, and we hope that the home fans can drive us over the line.” This will be the first time that the side will play the first match at home in an international window under Oxtoby’s tenure.
On the other hand, the Maltese side also played their first UEFA Women’s Nations League match away in September, where they managed a narrow victory on away territory against Latvia, who ended up the closest rivals in the group. Asked whether the team can draw from that experience in facing another new opponent on away territory, Malta’s coach, Manuela Tesse, replied, “It was a tough match but one in which we as a team, the coaches and the players, also grew together in understanding each other even more. We have continued to grow since.”
On the other hand, while aware of facing even stronger opponents this time round, Manuela Tesse is looking for discipline from her team in search of a strong debut. Despite facing an opposing crowd in the opening match once more, the Italian coach is searching for a good performance from her team, “We need to be organised, but considering that we are underdogs in the match perhaps we can be more free without the pressure.” Malta’s coach acknowledged that the familiarity between the opposing players will be a plus for the side, despite the two nations having never met.
The two teams will kick-off proceedings at 20:00 CET at the National Stadium at Windsor Park,Belfast. The match will be broadcast live on TVM News+ and BBC iPlayer. The other match in the group will be played between Portugal and Bosnia & Herzegovina, starting at 21:45 CET and can be watched online.
The second matchday will be on Tuesday 9th April. The Northern Ireland will travel to Bosnia & Herzegovina, with an afternoon kick-off at 15:30 in FF BH Football Training Centre, in Zenica. The other match will feature Malta against Portugal at the Centenary Stadium at 18:30, with tickets available for online purchase here.
Lead Images: Northern Ireland FA / Lara Schembri
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